lb@large

When camping in a truck, one should not underestimate the practicalities of “the tailgate”. That piece of furniture comes in handy a lot of times, especially if you don’t possess a folding table or chairs.

Mark and I used it as seats, when we were too lazy to unpack the back, to search for our more comfy beach chairs. Or, when it was wet out, the tailgate kept our butts dry.

More than once a day, the platform gave us extra space to put bags and boxes, while digging deeper for other gear, without having to drop it on the (wet) ground.

And what would be a better spot then the locking mechanism on the side of the tailgate to hang a garbage bag? This way, the trash is located off the ground, away from insects, and outside the car.

As a table, we used it for many things: making dinner, serving food, eating all meals, putting flowers and drinks down. When the wind was too strong, we found out that this last idea wasn’t a smart one.

Even the dogs benefited from this part of the vehicle. It was the place where we poured water and food in their bowls, and the whole unit provided welcome shade underneath.

You can also use a tailgate to play cards and other games, but previously mentioned wind, cold weather, and rain, will chase you back in the tent or the interior of the truck. And how long can a couple and two dogs survive in the confinement of these two places? About two months!

The car is yellow. Nothing special about that, if it wasn’t for the fact that our car is normally tan. Not now, though. And, believe me, there’s nothing good about that yellow. It never was one of my favorite colors, and that sure isn’t about to change these days…

The top of our vehicle is covered with half an inch of yellow dust. Pollen. Apparently the state of Maryland is known for this phenomenon. If only we had known. I don’t mind pollen. It’s part of nature. I love nature. It gives color to everything around me. I love colors. But, it makes Mark very sick. And, I love Mark!

I knew he had allergies. Once in a while on our travels, there would be a couple of days of runny noses, wet tissues, and some sneezing. Nothing to worry about. Sometimes, he’d have to get his asthma medicine out and spray a few times. That was that. Sure, he had allergies, but it wasn’t a big deal and easy to live with. Until now.

When we arrived in Maryland, April 25th, we found a great National Park to camp. Greenbelt NP is situated in the woods, close to Washington DC, Baltimore and Annapolis. For about a week, we camped under the trees and saw the landscape turn yellow. Mark started to suffer from his allergies and was soon enough hooked to all kinds of medicines. Nothing seemed to help. Runny eyes and nose made us run out of toilet paper every two days. Benadryl made him feel weird and sleepy. The asthma medicine was used daily. We dealt with it.

Our new friend and yacht broker Tommy has a nice uncle who has a great best friend, and before we knew it, we moved to a big farm near Annapolis. We set up camp in the long grass, not knowing for how long. The world around us was less yellow. Green was dominating now. There was grass everywhere, in this friendly Hippieland. These long-haired fellows made us feel very welcome and 2,5 weeks later, we are still there.

The nights have been tough, though. Packed like sardines in our tent, the four of us keep waking up, because of Mark’s bad health. Sneezing, sniffling, blowing the nose… blood gushing for hours. Tissues piling up and filling air holes wherever present. Coughing, sniffling. Chchchchagh. Slime brought to the throat, collecting in a goopy pile and swallowed back in. Sounds (and is) disgusting, but keeps the nose from bleeding and the sleeping bag and pillow from collecting red stains. Mark’s nose is stuffed and he can barely breathe at times. It has been going on for weeks now. We’ve tried everything. If only the American government would provide its citizens with better health care, people could afford to go to the doctor when actually needed…

After a third medicine trial, things looked like they were improving. But… Mark’s hands and toes turned red. Lobster red, as if burned. Now, we did deliver a boat in the Bay almost a week ago. It was freezing cold, but the sun was out. Why does this color show up three days after the exposure to the sun? We have no clue. Is it another allergic reaction? Time for Benadryl again and hopefully we can stay awake to keep tracking the weird actions of Mark’s body!

Yep, it’s quite a change. Despite our older age, our comfort level is sinking. We down-graded one more step in the way we are living, and I think we’re about at the bottom now. We went from Mark’s apartment in California, to a 36-foot boat, to an 11-foot truck camper, to a car and a tent, two and half years later…

Our Toyota Tacoma is doing her job. Weighed down in the back, because of all of our gear, she steadily covers all the distances we travel. Every night she manages to bring us to a certain camping spot, or the occasional cheap hotel that allows dogs. Then it’s time for a break, while we unpack some bags and tubs, her butt lifts up and we all settle in for the night.

The campgrounds range from primitive forests without facilities (free) to national or state park ones that have picnic tables, fire rings and hot showers, to an unmowed grassy field on a farm. We always try to park the car next to our site, to have easy access to our stuff. Everything is stored under the camper shell, packed high in the back, so each time we want to get something, things get moved around. When we set up camp, extra room becomes available… the best time to do some grocery shopping and fill up the holes.

Our recent house is a three person dome (igloo) tent from the late nineties. Each time we “build” her, she becomes more tight and shows more rips. But, a couple of minutes later, we have a roof above our head and we make the interior cozy with pillows, blankets and sleeping bags. That’s about all that fits, if you add two dogs, one Mark and a Liesbet to the equation. Oh, and we do use an air mattress now. After two weeks of hard “floors” and painful backs, we invested in a big hand pump to blow the thing up. What an improvement! If there’s rain in the forecast (and we were able to find that out and the weathermen are right for a chance), we fabricate an extra roof with a tarp. With all these improvements, there is no excuse anymore to stay in a motel!

When we’re ready for bed, the four of us get inside and take our positions. The people finagle themselves into their sleeping bag, while the dogs get pushed and shoved to one side of the tent. From then on there is only one rule: do not move or move in synchrony!

So, we are tugging along, repeating the camping rituals wherever we stop. Mark and I go through the movements that are becoming a habit. Kali and Darwin enjoy being with us and protect our belongings. More than once we wished we still had the truck camper, though. A little bit of comfort is mostly appreciated and we miss having a fridge. Buying two slices of lunch meat and a tomato a day, is getting old. Not to mention having to “cook” canned food on a one burner stove every night… Soon enough, this lifestyle will be over, though, and after two days in a normal house, all the comfort will be taken for granted again!

Finally, we are a-movin’ again!! Our four months stay in Karl’s house in Austin, Texas, was a relief in many ways, but… too much is too much. Sure, we enjoyed our daily hot showers, the use of a clean and working toilet, healthy and freshly cooked meals (thank you, Mark), our own bedroom with a very comfortable bed, a whole house to roam around in, all-time internet, and of course the good company. Kali and Darwin loved it, protected the place as if it was their own (they wish), enjoyed the awesome fenced-in yard and all the attention.

But, we were stuck, waiting for things that refused to happen. We hate being stuck, with no way out, especially in winter times!! There was no interest in our camper, parked in Karl’s driveway. As long as that thing didn’t sell, we were very reluctant to let go of the Big Red Truck. So, we drove that monstrous, diesel chugging thing around, being completely sick of it. Mark searched online every day to find a replacement car. We knew exactly what we wanted: a 4 door, 4 cylinder Toyota Tacoma with less than
100 000 miles and a little younger than 2000. Now, where the hell do you find a truck with “that low” mileage? Not in Texas! And with only 4 cylinders, in a state where the saying “the bigger the better” rules? Nope, it was a quest close to the impossible!

I guess that explains why we were in Austin for close to four months. We eventually put the camper on consignment (where it still sits), sold the truck for a good price (it did have LOW mileage and was very unique), and drove around the state to look for “our” Tacoma. With no luck. In the meantime, Mark, the dogs and I got to enjoy some of Austin’s beautiful parks and sights. We did many walks, saw the bat colony leave at dusk, went kayaking, made a couple of daytrips, hung out with friends, and explored the internet extensively. I got some writing done and learned to rock climb. But most of all: Mark and I survived each other once again in all but fun conditions, even though it was very hard at times… We don’t seem to be able to live a normal life!

When we finally possessed our Toyota Tacoma, it was time to make plans. The idea to move to Belize faded a bit. Mark ran into some sailing stories and boats for sale during his days, weeks, months on the web. And if one thing makes that guy excited… it’s the idea of owning a sailboat again. The thought of going sailing, on a more stable catamaran this time, appealed to everybody. Well, the dogs don’t know yet… So, our vague plan is this: check out the catamarans that are for sale at a reasonable price, on the east part of the country. If we knew all this about four months ago…

Well, there is a little bit of explanation to it…

My name is Liesbet and I am from Belgium. L-i-e-s-b-e-t. How the hell do you pronounce that as an English speaker? The first part “Lies” is not at all like the English word “lies”. I used to just nod my head when people called me “Lisbeth” or “Elizabeth”, but who was I kidding? The Dutch sound [ie] is pronounced like [ee], so my name should actually be spelled “Leezbet”. Huh?

An ex-boyfriend of mine, he is American, still couldn’t pronounce my name the way it is, after trying for a year. So, since Americans (especially Texans, even the liberal ones) like to use abbreviations, he came up with a new name for me: Lb. Sounded all right to me, easy, different, even a little cute. And, it described me in two ways: Liesbet and Lazy butt. Yep, I admit, I can be somewhat lazy at times, but only if it requires doing something I don’t really like. Luckily, that doesn’t happen too often…

At large? I was convinced I saw a road sign once, with these words on it. As far as I remembered, it must have been somewhere in Australia, driving through pasture land. In my head it means “cattle at large” and “be careful of roaming cows”. I searched the web for hours, but no such sign showed up. The dictionary didn’t give me the description I was hoping to find. But, the thesaurus version was right on! At least when I get to pick the words I want. At liberty, free-spirited, independent, liberal, loose, relaxed, unattached, uncommitted, and free. That’s me!

I’ve done lots of travelling in my 31 years of living. I work to travel. I basically live to travel, to explore, to try new things, to “expand my horizons”. The only things I own are a backpack, lots of memories, and heaps of photos and souvenirs in my parents’ attic. I guess I am addicted to the disease of roaming, wandering, vagebonding.
For now anyway…

Yes, it is possible! Is it dangerous? No! Is it hassle free? No!

Mark, his dogs Darwin and Kali, and I just explored Mexico and Central America for the last year. We drove our truck camper all the way to Panama, over the Canal, and back. It was great to have our own (comfortable, but small) house with us and we could basically go where we wanted in our 4WD truck. The biggest hassles were dealing with the police (Honduras, Panama), crossing borders (most countries), finding places to camp (especially Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua) and trying to escape the heat and humidity.

We camped at beautiful beaches, experienced different cultures, met friendly locals, ate great food, saw awesome wildlife, climbed live vulcanoes, hiked in wonderful nature parks, and lived a basic and cheap life, while sleeping in our own bed at night! Our biggest expenses were fuel (diesel is cheaper than gas).

Of course it is impossible to mention all our adventures here, but I’m thinking of writing a lot of articles and even a book about this unusual road trip. If anyone has questions, or is thinking to do something similar, please feel free to contact me through the comments or at lbcollaert@gm**l.com.